Health care stocks declined late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index down 1.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 1.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) dropped 2.2%.

In corporate news, Viatris' (VTRS) Mylan unit withdrew all its claims disputing Novo Nordisk's (NVO) assertions that Mylan's generic semaglutide medication infringes the patent covering Wegovy, according to federal court filings. Viatris fell 1.2%, and Novo shed 1.8%.

Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) said Thursday that David Ramsay has been appointed as the company's interim chief financial officer, effective March 23. Ramsay previously served as the CFO of Halozyme from 2003 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2015, the company said. Halozyme shares were down 4.1%.

Eli Lilly's (LLY) Japanese subsidiary is expected to invest 20 billion yen ($126 million) at its factory in Kobe to bolster capacity for the company's existing drugs and support production of new diabetes and obesity medicines, Nikkei Asia said Thursday. Lilly shares were down 1.9%.

Abivax (ABVX) denied an earlier report in La Lettre stating that the company granted AstraZeneca (AZN) exclusive access to confidential information until March 23 with a view to formalizing an offer, Bloomberg reported, citing an emailed statement from the company's head of investor relations. Abivax shares rose 4.1%, and AstraZeneca was shedding 0.7%.